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The CBJ Blog - Full of stuff to make you think – about news – about university life - whatever pops into our heads! From the Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism at NTU.Tue, 24 Oct 2017 13:16:26 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngcbjbanterhttps://cbjbanter.wordpress.com
PPA Festival: hot topics in magazine media 2016https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/ppa-festival-hot-topics-in-magazine-media-2016/
https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/ppa-festival-hot-topics-in-magazine-media-2016/#respondSun, 15 May 2016 12:11:16 +0000http://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/?p=907]]>We were at the PPA Festival, an annual coming together of editors and publishers from all corners of the magazine world in London on Thursday (May 12).

Masses of good advice was shared and there was excellent pull quote material (see below).

There were also some interesting and surprising nuggets about the health of the industry in the UK, including the fact that £1.2bn was spent on magazines last year.

More ominously, there is a ‘ticking timebomb’ in the form of privacy and data protection laws which could shoot a hole in companies’ efforts to exploit in other ways the info they gather about subscribers and other customers.

People love the paper product.
No one collects websites

Elsewhere, one theme that stood out was the resilience of the printed magazine. People love and will continue to love the paper product you hold in your hand; some titles are still so prized that readers hang on to them, sometimes for years or even decades. And no one collects websites, as was pointed out more than once.

But alongside valuing the tactile appeal of magazines, the other message coming through with overwhelming clarity was the role social media is now playing, not just as a promotional or research tool but as a publishing platform, making it a big area for investment.

Steve Hatch, UK managing director of Facebook, told the packed session on social that stories in its Instant Articles format are 20% more likely to be read than others online.

Social scene: Steve Hatch of Facebook talks to a full house at the PPA Festival. Pic: Julie Nightingale

Maggie Hitchins, Shortlist Media’s digital editor-in-chief, said going to where the audience is – whether it’s Instagram, YouTube or otherwise – is key, meaning the website is no longer the first port of call for publishing online.

]]>https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/ppa-festival-hot-topics-in-magazine-media-2016/feed/0magladySocial scene: Steve Hatch of Facebook talks to a full house at the PPA Festival 2016. Pic: Julie NightingaleSimon’s scoop lands him place on awards shortlisthttps://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/simons-scoop-lands-him-place-on-awards-shortlist/
https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/simons-scoop-lands-him-place-on-awards-shortlist/#respondFri, 19 Feb 2016 15:59:37 +0000http://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/?p=885]]>Talented trainee journalist Simon Murfitt was nominated for scoop of the year at the NCTJ awards.

The front page story…

The 23-year-old, who graduated from BA Print Journalism in 2014, has been working for the Brentwood Gazette since he left.

Simon said the story was the highlight of his career so far after it went in most national papers in print and online.

He added: “As well as being funny it gave me a great buzz to know that the story would shock everyone.

“In fact, the paper came out on April Fools’ Day and a lot of people thought it was a hoax, including the Daily Mail who phoned the newsroom to ask if was real or not.”

The Arsenal fan lived with four other print students who are now also working on newspapers – Sam Wildman (Northants Telegraph), Alex Thorp (Grimsby Telegraph), Adam Everett (Warrington Guardian) and Robin Murray (Wiltshire Gazette & Herald).

… and the inside story

Also in the house were print student George Solomon, who recently got a job with Team Sky after working on the press team at Nottingham Forest, and broadcast student Steven Jamieson who now works in sports commentary and presenting.

Simon said: “It goes to show the great work that CBJ has done!”

He is now preparing to take his National Qualification in Journalism exams next month after which he said his place on the awards shortlist would look great on his CV when it comes to moving on.

Classic Bride (right), the brainchild of Caitlin Kelly, Vicky Lomax and Chloe McNab, was described as “a gem of an idea” by the judges who said it was “genuinely meeting the needs of the reader” with its ideas for features on celebrity marriages, honeymoon destinations and tackling the etiquette of the wedding invitation.

It would make an excellent quarterly ‘coffee table’ magazine or a supplement to an existing magazine such as Good Housekeeping, said judge Elise Wells, editor of Slimming World.

The other two contenders, Baker to Baker and Young Entrepreneur, also won praise for their imagination and the quality of their ideas.

Baker to Baker (B2B), the magazine for the baking industry devised by George Ellis, Leo Forfar and Stewart Thorpe, had a “zeitgeisty name”, said judge Tim Relf, communities and farmlife editor at Farmers Weekly.

Judge Sophie Turner, one of the team behind last year’s winner, Women’s Tri, and now a digital marketing assistant at Nottingham Trent, said the third title, Young Entrepreneur (formerly Pulse), had clearly identified a target market around the interest in setting up a business among people in their 20s and 30s and the pitch by Jodie Armstrong, Charlotte McIntyre and Emma Turner, had “great authenticity”.

Julie Nightingale, course leader for the MA/PGDip in Magazine Journalism in the Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism at NTU, said the competition helped students to grasp the challenges of thinking up a good idea then translating it into a product for a particular readership.

“Dragons’ Den isn’t just a nice exercise. Both the judges on the day and the feedback on our blog, where the pitches are also posted, give students professional, honest critique, just as they would get in industry. That is exactly what we want for them: our students must leave the course understanding the realities of the market they are entering while also being enthused about the possibilities.”

Classic Bride will be worked on by all of the students on the course this month (February) and will be published online in April.

The competition to find the best new magazine idea pitched by CBJ magazine journalism students returns this week with three titles vying for the winning spot.

After last year’s triumph by the sport and fitness concept Women’s Tri, 2016’s contenders focus on young entrepreneurs, the baking business and weddings for the mature market.

Business magazine Pulse targets 20- and 30-year-olds hoping to be the next Michelle Mone or Richard Branson with content all about how to set up and thrive in business. Devised by Jodie Armstrong, Charlotte McIntyre and Emma Turner, its editorial ranges from how to finance your start-up or deal with maternity leave rules to what makes the best entrepreneurs tick and how to dress for a meeting.

George Ellis, Leo Forfar and Stewart Thorpe have gone for a business-to-business (b2b) magazine, aimed at capitalising on the boom in baking sparked by the Great British Bake Off and the interest in niche products, such as gluten-free. Features include the increasing popularity of baking among men and the campaign for real bread.

Third in the line-up is luxury brand Classic Bride, a wedding magazine designed to appeal to brides over-40 with advice on how to choose a dress, the etiquette of wedding invitations and tying the knot in a foreign location. It’s the brainchild of Caitlin Kelly, Vicky Lomax and Chloe McNab.

On Thursday January 28, the three concepts will be pitched to a panel of media experts, including Elise Wells, editor of Slimming World, one of the top five best-selling magazines in the country, and Tim Relf, who combines his job as community and farm life editor at Farmers Weekly with a parallel career as a novelist.

Course leader Julie Nightingale said: “Dragons’ Den is one of the most popular projects we do. The fact that it is judged by real industry people gives it an edge and sets it apart from other assignments.

“Last year produced some phenomenal ideas and the winner, Women’s Tri, was eventually pitched for real to a magazine company. I think this year’s look equally promising but it’s up to the Dragons on the day.”

Which magazine gets your vote? Leave us a comment below

]]>https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/magazine-students-prepare-to-go-head-to-head-in-dragons-den/feed/11magladyPulse coverClassic BrideDavid Bowie: the man, the media and the headlines he will inspirehttps://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/david-bowie-the-man-the-media-and-the-headlines-he-will-inspire/
https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/david-bowie-the-man-the-media-and-the-headlines-he-will-inspire/#respondFri, 15 Jan 2016 13:50:45 +0000http://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/?p=789]]>

David Bowie. Credit: Wikipedia

‘Why is there so much coverage of his death? Was he really that important?’

The question arose ten minutes into our @MagazineCBJ snap session on David Bowie this week, exploring how the media reacts when a much-loved public figure dies.

The answer was simple.

Yes, some of the media coverage was over-wrought. Yes, it triggered a display of public anguish that was, in some cases, more about jumping on the latest grief bandwagon than heartfelt sorrow.

Nevertheless, as we explained to the magazine journalism students, all in their early 20s, Bowie was a performer whose influence extended beyond all forms of music into every corner of popular culture and especially visual culture; from art high and low, to fashion, design, technology, philosophy, literature and the media itself.

Then there’s the liberating effect, spoken of movingly by so many this week, of seeing a man in a dress, high heels and unmissable eye shadow draping his arm around guitarist Mick Ronson and taking Top of the Pops by storm in the Britain of 1972.

You cannot measure his influence but it is everywhere. That is why he was so important and his loss is a blow to so many.

Lessons from the media

The media reaction WAS intense and a powerful case study of how a big story breaks and is covered in modern journalism and the challenges it presents to journalists. Here are some takeaways:

Breaking news – social media is the default platform for breaking news with the web increasingly becoming an archive source. Rumours of Bowie’s death were circulating on Twitter and Facebook early on Monday January 11 and it was confirmed on his son, Duncan Jones’, accounts at 6.30am, although . . .

Verification – BBC5 Live broadcast ‘reports of’ the death just before 7am. Today on Radio 4 made no mention until 7.06am. The delay would be down to the need to confirm that the original social media posts were not the work of hackers.

You are not the story – journalists live on TV and radio broke the rule about impartiality, letting their own feelings about Bowie’s death take over their reporting. Understandable? Or self-indulgent?

Curation – the internet was flooded with millions of online stories and posts about Bowie without hours, leading media outlets to sift through for highlights. As Paul Bradshaw says here, curation is the new obituary

Find an angle – some local press went to great lengths to localise the story, as in the tale of the Croydon milkman who delivered Bowie’s milk more than 45 years ago

New material – many outlets took the opportunity to release previously unpublished Bowie material. Among GQ’s excellent coverage on the day was this gem from Robert Chalmers about telling Bowie, by mistake, to f***off. In the US, CBS 60 Minutes shared clips from an unseen 2003 interview – not aired at the time, apparently, due to ‘correspondent conflict’.

This is the end – the last official portrait of Bowie, taken by Jimmy King posted on Instagram a few days before Bowie’s death, is a work of art and a lesson in semiotics. What does it mean that he’s wearing shoes but not socks? Is it, as some think, a reference to death?

Finally, back to Bowie’s influence on culture, popular and media, explicit and subconscious.

Besides the songs eulogising the man, the fashion shows paying stylistic tribute and the novelists who will use his life and death as continuing inspiration, expect the journalists to get in on the act with magazine covers, spreads (celebrities dress up as their favourite Bowie characters), tribute supplements, more TV specials, columns and philosophising.

Above all, let’s look forward to a rash of Bowie-inspired headlines, as in:

Figgy Stardust – @BBCGoodFood celebrates figs

Ciders from Mars – BeerandBrewing.com reports on innovation in the world of scrumpy @CraftBeerBrew

Ashes to Ashes – Country Living magazine chooses your ten best woodburners @CountryLivingUK

Man who Bowled the World – England cricketer Jimmy Anderson becomes the world’s top wicket-taker. Any newspaper. @jimmy9

Moonage Daydream – Tim Peake’s autobiography @astro_timpeake

Station to Station – great railway voyages as reported by Sunday Times Travel @ST_travel

All the Madmen – Media Week profiles the movers and shakers in advertising @MediaWeek

Under Pressure – anyone writing about Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn

]]>https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/david-bowie-the-man-the-media-and-the-headlines-he-will-inspire/feed/0magladyDavid Bowie. Credit: WikipediaHow James won top sport award – read his winning workhttps://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2015/12/02/how-james-won-top-sport-award-read-his-winning-work/
https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2015/12/02/how-james-won-top-sport-award-read-his-winning-work/#respondWed, 02 Dec 2015 13:32:03 +0000http://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/?p=782]]>Delighted CBJ old boy James Sharpe is still pinching himself after winning a top award.

James, who graduated from MA/PGDip Digital and Newspaper Journalism in 2012, was named Sports Journalist of the Year at the Midlands Media Awards.

He added: “As a Leicester City fan it was great fun being able to follow them on their miraculous great escape last sesason and now, incredibly, reach the top of the Premier League.”

Derby Telegraph crime reporter Martin Naylor, who studied MA/PGDip Digital and Newspaper Journalism in 2006-7, won Scoop of the Year for his exclusive story about an Islamic State suicide bomber from the city.

His story revealed that a would-be suicide bomber in Syria was, in fact, Derby father Kabir Ahmed, twice convicted for spreading hatred against gay people in the city. Ahmed is suspected to have died in a bombing later.

Winner: CBJ graduate Martin Naylor.

Martin said: “I am really pleased to have received this award. My wife is delighted for me and very proud. We have a great team at the Telegraph and it’s good to have our work recognised on occasions like this.”

Leicester Mercury journalist Gemma Peplow, who studied on the same course the year before Martin, was shortlisted in the Feature Writer of the Year category.

And Free Radio’s Dan Dawson, who graduated from MA/PGDip Radio Journalism in 2005, was shortlisted in the Radio Journalist of the Year category.

]]>https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2015/12/02/how-james-won-top-sport-award-read-his-winning-work/feed/0welforddaveWinners: James Sharpe (left) and Leicester Mercury photographer Mike Sewell.PIcture: Ian Hodgkinson Pictured at the Midlands Media Awards ceremony in Birmingham our winner for Scoop of the Year Martin NaylorOliver and Tania toast awards successhttps://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/oliver-and-tania-toast-awards-success/
https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/oliver-and-tania-toast-awards-success/#respondThu, 30 Apr 2015 14:03:31 +0000http://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/?p=775]]>CBJ students were among the winners at the inaugural Midlands Media Students Awards.

Winner: Tania Brown reported on the rise in veganism.

Tania Brown took first prize in the Food and Drink category for her report looking at the rise of veganism and vegan restaurants in Nottingham.

Oliver Loe won the top award in the Sport category for his report on footgolf, a combination of football and golf that is becoming popular in Nottingham. One of the highlights was a memorable hole in one for Oliver.

Fellow student Louis Antonio received a special prize for a best picture caption tweet in a competition open to all students attending the ceremony.

Two other CBJ students, Georgianna Scurfield and Elana Campbell, were also nominated for awards for their packages on a rare bird at Nottingham’s Wollaton Hall and Charlie Hebdo respectively.

The winning students are in their final year of an innovative course linked to Notts TV, which is based at CBJ. As part of their course they work as interns producing news material and working on live news programmes broadcast on the local station every weekday evening.

Winner: Oliver Loe with his award.

Notts TV coordinator Deborah Kelly said: “This was a great result for CBJ. This is the first year that students have been working with Notts TV as part of their third year. It’s particularly pleasing that they won the awards for work produced in a real newsroom environment where they are working under pressure to tight deadlines.”

The Midlands Media Student Awards were organised by the Birmingham Press Club. Established in 1865, it’s the oldest press club in the world with more than 350 members, including journalists from newspapers, magazines, television, radio and online.

The student awards were launched to recognise the talent of the next generation of journalists. They attracted more than 110 entries from media students throughout the East and West Midlands and the judging panel was led by Sky News managing editor Peter Lowe.

The winning students were awarded internships with media companies based in the Midlands.

]]>https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/oliver-and-tania-toast-awards-success/feed/0welforddaveWinner: Tania Brown reported on the rise in veganism.Winner: Oliver Loe did a report on footgolf.Nottingham city council’s invisible candidates struggling to reach votershttps://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/nottingham-city-councils-invisible-candidates-struggling-to-reach-voters/
https://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/nottingham-city-councils-invisible-candidates-struggling-to-reach-voters/#respondMon, 20 Apr 2015 10:59:21 +0000http://cbjbanter.wordpress.com/?p=771]]>The first-year broadcast journalism students here at CBJ have been working hard to compile profiles for every candidate standing in the forthcoming Nottingham City Council elections.

We have been aiming to compile biographical details and photographs for everyone pitching for a seat and, with a total of 55 seats, across 20 wards, and up to a dozen candidates per ward, this has been a considerable undertaking.

But we didn’t realise just how considerable until we started our research and were astonished to find just how few candidates can be found on social media or, indeed, have any digital platform whatsoever.

Despite trawls of party websites and news sites far and wide, many of these candidates are nowhere to be found.

We have tried emailing and calling political party offices and, even, home numbers and we are still struggling to gather the information.

If we are finding this so hard, what about voters wanting to know about the candidates hoping to represent them? How do these people hope to attract votes on polling day when there is so little information about them available?

In today’s digital world there is no reason why this should be the case. Surely the first thing anyone wanting to represent their community should do is to inform that community of who they are and what they about. But this doesn’t seem to be happening here in Nottingham.

The turn-out at local elections is low, traditionally no higher than 35 per cent and here maybe a reason for this. Is it any wonder that voters are struggling to be engaged when candidates are so invisible?

Women’s Tri, winner of this year’s Dragons’ Den contest for the best magazine pitch at CBJ, combines interviews with top women triathletes with advice on training and which kit to buy, plus novice Alyss Bowen takes on the challenge of cycling, swimming and running with triathletes in Nottingham.

Meanwhile, ahead of the General Election, top broadcaster Kay Burley talks to Core magazine about her career in political journalism. Core also has reviews, features and Mike Pettifer’s column on why he feared the end of the world would scupper his plans to become a train driver.

Apart from the fact that they are established, top-notch digital and print brands, their bosses have all spoken to MA/PGdip Magazine students at CBJ this academic year.

You can read all about it at First Last Everything, the CBJ Magazine website. Meanwhile, here’s a flavour of what they told us about their magazines, their jobs and how they got started in journalism:

Hannah Williams, editor of the BBC Good Food website, never pictured herself doing anything other than writing when she began as a journalist over a decade ago.

Today she manages a website, branded apps and all things technological.

“I started off as a print journalist but this is where the industry has taken me. My job now is at the heart of everything we do, it’s not passively putting out content for people to read, we’re in constant dialogue with our readers and learning how and where they use our content. It’s so creative and exciting.”

The website is a huge social hub.

“We get about 18 million users on the website per week, that’s more than the population of Sweden. Our team of five are much more than just writers. All of them are capable of using analytics, SEO, creating videos and images as well as producing written content.

All of my team are capable of using analytics, SEO, creating videos and images

“Photos for example are essential for us, it’s what sets us apart from other food resources that don’t utilise them. It’s the most expensive part of the process, but people eat with their eyes! Eighty five per cent of people base their decision of what they’re going to cook based on the photos, so they need to be good.”

Diane Kenwood edits Woman’s Weekly, a best-seller within the lifestyle and mature sector and a brand that’s endured for 104 years, but “this does not symbolise our readers, it just shows that this is a magazine that has been in families for decades,” she said.

With over 17.2 million people over 50 owning a desktop PC, laptop or tablet computer, it is no surprise that the magazine has a big Facebook community. “That age group use the internet for practical use, and Facebook is a method of keeping in contact with those that are geographically spread.”

As a brand, Woman’s Weekly is very tenacious. It has grown tremendously in recent years with five supplements a month, the Woman’s Weekly live show and the newly-launched Woman’s Weekly shop.

Comparing her magazine to a house Diane said: “ It is critical that the foundation of the house stays the same but it needs to be current and move with the times.”

Tim Arthur, Time Out Global CEO, talked about the decision to take Time Out from a paid-for to a free magazine in 2012, after the magazine’s circulation had declined to below 60,000.

He said that research was one of the most important things when publishing a free magazine, along with quality and distribution.

With the help of focus groups he realised that the layout of the magazine was alienating readers. To solve this problem the content was presented differently with pages becoming simpler and cleaner.

This and a raft of other changes have seen the circulation soar to more than 300,000.

Work experience: be the first one there and the last one out

Asked about work experience, Tim said he looks for someone who is nice, will be the first one there and the last one out and who “attempts to make the editor’s life easier”.

Ciaran O’Toole, digital innovation director of Classic Rock publisher TeamRock, stressed the need to provide quality content but said that what needs to change in the industry is how that content is delivered to the reader.

“You need to give people what they want, when they want it.”

But, most significantly for CBJ students, Ciaran said that while the delivery and marketing of magazine content will continue to change, great writing and strong editing skills will always remain at the core of the media.

“We are right in the middle of a changing of the guard,” he says, “but what will not change is the requirement for talent and the ability to entertain.”